Monthly Post 501 Meeting, Held at Vice Commander Dolan’s residence
Meeting Minutes June 25, 2020
Present (6) Bob Dolan, Tom Grezek, Bob Halter, Bruce Nettleton, Cam & Pam LeBlanc
Opening Ceremonies
Commander Grezek lead us in an opening prayer.
Previous Meeting’s Minutes
May 21, 2019 Meeting Minutes were read by the members present and approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report
Financial report was read by the Post Commander. Report presented detailed revenue and expenses. The report, reflected $8,541.74 in checking account, $ 5,102.73 in Certificate of Deposit, resulting in total financial balance of $ 13,644.47. The financial report as approved as presented.
Membership
Vice Commander Dolan reported that Post 501 has met membership goal for the year. Membership renewal is currently 143 members, exceeding goal of 141. For the 2020 membership year the Post has 8 transfers into the Post.
Communications
It was reported last month that the Woodbury Bulletin would cease publication in the first week in May 20. The Woodbury Bulletin has been a valuable publication to get the word out to the community on what the Legion Post is doing. Bob Dolan has submitted a general article about the Post 501 to the Woodbury Connector for publication in their June edition. The Woodbury Connector is a free magazine that is mailed to all Woodbury residences. Hopefully this will be the start of many articles in this publication to get the word out to the community on Post 501 activities.
Service Officer
There was no Service Officer report for this month.
Donation Committee
There was one request for donations from the Woodbury Community Foundation. Since this charity gives money to some of the same organizations as the Post it was decided to make no donations to this charity.
Old Business
- 2020 Poppy Days Reschedule: The Post needs to nail down a date to discuss the Poppy Days reschedule with the Woodbury VFW. Bob Dolan took the action to see if Dale Johnson would host this meeting at the Veterans Camp at Big Marine Lake after the 4th of July.
- Stafford Scholarships: Commander Grezek gave the AF JRROTC unit until 15 June for submission of applicants. As of the date of this meeting there were no applications submitted from the Woodbury cadets. Since the Post will not be awarding scholarships in 2020 it was suggested by Vice Commander Dolan that we might provide some of that money to our 2020 Boys State candidates. Since Boys State was cancelled, due to COVID 19, it would be a great gesture for the Post to give a award to each of the Boys State candidates to highlight their achievements. Commander Grezek thought that this might be a good use of Post funds, but wanted to table this motion until the July meeting for more Post officer input.
- 2021 Membership Packet Pickup: Vice Commander Dolan will be going to the Lonsdale American Legion Post to pick up the 2021 membership packets on Saturday 27 June. 1 July is the start of the new membership renewal drive.
- Joint Veterans Picnic: This event is still in limbo. Hopefully over the next month we will see if we can move forward with this event.
New Business
- Woodbury Veterans Memorial Council (VMC): Bruce Nettleton gave us a run down on the condition of the veteran pavers. Bruce inspected the pavers and observed that all of the pavers repainted last year look good, 28 of the 72 pavers rated fair last September are now needing to be repainted, and 7 more pavers that were considered good last year now need to be repainted. Therefore, we have 35 pavers needing to be repainted. It was also discussed that the VFW, American Legion, VMC, and Lions need to approach the City of Woodbury to pick up the maintenance of the memorial park going forward.
- Rifle Squad Stipend: Commander Grezek mentioned that the VFW applies for a $50 stipend from Minnesota State government for the rifle squad. He was not sure how and when those monies get deposited and used by the joint rifle squad. Commander Grezek took for action to follow up on this and also see if the Legion Post can apply for their own stipend.
Announcements
- The Post received a thank you letter from the Woodbury Emergency Christian Cupboard Food Shelf for our donation of $500 last month.
- Commander Grezek reported that the Woodbury City Hall cancelled our conference reservations for the remainder of 2020. It was discussed what we would do for meeting venues for the rest of the year. Vice Commander Dolan took for action to talk with Paul Lindahl to see if the VFW Post has been able to use their conference room at the Green Mill restaurant. With that information the Post will discuss our options at the July meeting.
Closing Ceremonies
Prayer, adjournment at 8:03 p.m.
